UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA EPIGENOMICS OF DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE OVERALL PROJECT SUMMARY The goal of this COBRE II application is to expand and enhance research into epigenetic mechanisms underlying development and disease at the University of North Dakota by providing ongoing support to the Epigenetics Working Group (EWG). In COBRE I the EWG made significant progress towards development of an epigenetics/epigenomics program through support of individual projects; recruitment of epigenetics experts to our group and supporting faculty development through mentoring programs. We established a comprehensive Genomics Core to meet the needs of the epigenetics community and provided technical and financial support that increased the number of researchers in our community utilizing epigenetic approaches. In Phase I our COBRE Investigators made important discoveries that resulted in 253 papers published in high impact journals, 66 poster and oral presentations by Project Leaders at invited seminars or scientific meetings, and the awarding of more than $10.8 million in external funding primarily from R01, R21, and NSF grants. Here we seek to maintain this momentum through continuation and expansion of these programs via the following strategies: We will recruit faculty with interests and expertise that increase the size of our group and extend our competencies into mechanistic and translational areas; We will enhance the offerings of the Genomics Core to further increase the ability of our group to perform high-quality research; We will enhance the ability of our investigators to transition to independent funding through support of individual projects and scientific and faculty development mentoring programs. Our long-term goal is to transition the EWG into a sustainable scientific center dedicated to understanding molecular mechanisms of developmental and pathological disorders that will attract top talent, train the next generation of scientists, and become a regional hub for cutting edge epigenetics research. ! ! !